4 media companies including Thrillist, The Dodo, and NowThis have merged — and Discovery just poured $100 million into it

TechCrunch/flickrDiscovery Communications is making a $100 million investment in an entity called "Group Nine Media," a new holding company that ties together media brands Thrillist, NowThis, The Dodo, and Seeker (Discovery's digital network).

Ben Lerer, Thrillist's CEO, will be the CEO of Group Nine.

Group Nine is very much a Lerer family venture: Ken Lerer, who was instrumental in both The Huffington Post and BuzzFeed, is a cofounder of NowThis, and Izzie Lerer is the founder of The Dodo.

Discovery's $100 million investment continues the trend of legacy media companies investing three-figure millions into digital ventures as strategic partners. BuzzFeed, Vice, and Vox, each have investments of over $100 million from the old guard of media.

"The merging of these millennial-focused brands will immediately create in Group Nine Media one of the largest digital-first media companies," the company said in a statement.

Ben Lerer hinted at more media consolidation to come in his statement on Group Nine: "Each of our brands has found great success independently, but with consolidation of digital content companies around the corner, there is extraordinary value in all existing under one multi-brand roof. We will be stronger brands working together — we will have more influence; we will have better data and insights; we will be better partners to our advertisers; and most importantly, we will be substantial enough to make a real difference and stay ahead of the market."

While Discovery's $100 million investment is a minority investment, it will have the option to buy a controlling stake, according to the company. Axel Springer will be the the second-largest shareholder in Group Nine.

Group Nine claims that its combined reach will be 12+ billion monthly social impressions, 50+ million monthly social engagements, 40+ million Facebook followers, and 30+ million YouTube subscribers. NowThis, by itself, is also the top video news publisher on Facebook, the company said.